Category: Opinion

Dear Editor, Thankfully the midterm election is over. However, it is unbelievable that 56 percent of California residents voted NOT to repeal the added gasoline taxes. Do you think these added taxes are going to go away? By voting NOT to repeal the tax, you are allowing the State Government to increase the tax on gasoline again and again. Since you have no problem paying not only the taxes on gasoline, but also the highest in the nation, would you be willing to pay to fill up my tank too? Nancy Eller, Hemet Dear Editor, Suggestions for City Council: The Sept. 25 Treasurer report shows a $36,273 withdrawal from LAIF. The (more…)

■ Calvin Porter / Staff Writer Much has been spoken and written for and against the multi-billion dollar mega project ($77 billion at last count) that when concluded should bring the railroad industry in the United States somewhat closer in this endeavor to other developed countries such as Japan, France, Germany, etc. that have been using high speed rail travel now for many years. For and against arguments from all aspects beginning with where all the money needed to complete the job is coming from, impact on the environment and on communities affected by the train’s transit through their towns and the need to legislate locally for this contingency, projections as (more…)

Hemet serves the needs of many different faiths ■ By Ann Smith / Contributed I read with interest, Chris Smith’s article on the Presbyterian Church of Hemet in the Oct. 25 edition of The Valley Chronicle. I attended The Hollywood Presbyterian Church for several years myself while I was searching for my religious pathway. That was the period when the nationally recognized Rev. Lloyd John Ogilvie led a mega-congregation of 3,000 plus in the mid- to late 70’s. (Ogilvie was the Hollywood minister who in 1995 was elected U.S. Senate Chaplain but at the same time was the target of a lawsuit by a woman who claimed he talked her out (more…)

■ By Dolly Baxter / Contributed I decided to spend time with a senior citizen named Peggy who lives in a senior community for my observation report. She is a 91 year old woman who is recently widowed after 65 years of marriage and lives alone. She has a caregiver named Delores who comes in to help her three days a week, but for the remainder of the week she is alone. I chose Peggy to observe because she lives in the same community as my great aunt and I wanted to observe the behaviors of someone who used to live with a loved one for so long to then suddenly (more…)

This is what Stacy Olsen (sic) did to us! In September of 2016 our electric bill for the riverbed property was extremely high. When the property is not leased out for farming, the monthly bill is only for a standby charge associated with the well. Larry and I drove over to see if we could determine the cause of the increase. We were shocked to find a squatters encampment and were stunned at how extensive it was. It was not visible from the street and only discoverable by driving onto the property. It was sad to see our property being destroyed. There were several kinds of make shift (sic) housing where (more…)

■ Chronicle News Staff Editor’s Note: As many Hemet voters may be confused by the two marijuana measures on the ballot, we have devised several questions voters might wish to ask themselves before going to the polls Nov. 6. Measure Y reads: Shall the privately proposed measure be adopted allowing an unlimited number of non-retail cannabis businesses in manufacturing zones without a city-issued discretionary approval, subject to limited separation requirements, giving certain cannabis business operators priority over others in establishing their businesses in the City, and taxing cannabis businesses at the rate of $10 per square foot of space used in connection with commercial cannabis activity, estimated to yield $1,000,000 in (more…)

■ By Rusty Strait / Senior Reporter Think you know all about voting? Maybe not. Rumors and myths abound in a plethora of mis-information about American history and, none more prolific and misinforming than the “one vote” cause of either winning or losing elections. It goes way back. For instance, you might have heard that one vote gave us English instead of German as our national language. Not true. Here’s how that got started and somewhere down the line skewed into an untruth. Actually, in 1776, a request was made by some Virginia Germans to have certain laws issued in German as well as English. The proposal was presented and the (more…)

Something must be done! Dear Editor, Drivers going through the red lights on Stetson Ave is becoming not only a dangerous problem but also a common, daily occurrence. In January of this year, two people I know had very bad (although not fatal) accidents within the same day on Stetson that not only totaled their vehicles, but put one of them in the hospital. One friend of mine was hit at the intersection of Kirby and Stetson when a driver passed through the red light on Stetson long after the light for cross traffic on Kirby had turned green. The driver who violated the signal did not even get a ticket! (more…)

The myths and facts of the drug’s harmful effects Pixabay.comBecause marijuana is deceptively marketed as a “medicine,” perception of the drug has changed. ■ Muriel Dufresne / Contributed There is an ever‑growing gap between the latest science and the myths surrounding marijuana. Some think that since it is legal, or “natural,” it must be safe. But behind the smoke screen, statistics and research show otherwise. Marijuana is one of the most abused drugs in America. Surveys estimate that 20 million people admit to past-month use and at least 4.2 million meet the criteria for addiction. As well, another survey recorded that in 2012 there were 305,560 treatment admissions for marijuana or (more…)

■ By John Bush / Contributed Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a two-part article. Read Part 1 in the Oct. 11, 2018 issue. The Justice’s supporters openly chant: “The end justifies the means.” But anyone can see that the right is thinning rapidly as the clock ticks and time passes. They and their wrong-minded thinking about practically all social issues are going extinct. But our Supreme Court will not follow them out to pasture for another 15-30 painful years due to this gross trickery. Heaven help us and certainly protect the world, and particularly, the autonomy of all and each of our women folk in the meantime. Any (more…)